LOS ANGELES, C.A. – Last month, a series of wildfires set Los Angeles ablaze. Thousands were forced to evacuate, including everyday families, celebrities and people of all economic classes, with some homes, belongings and mementos rendered unsalvageable.
The situation proved concerning to Montclair State students in the Semester in LA program, catered toward juniors within the School of Communication and Media (SCM).
Throughout the four-month-long program, students take two in-person classes offered by Montclair State in the city and others online. In addition, they take on an internship within the LA media industry.
Jaime Stickle, an assistant teaching professor at Montclair State and manager of the program, emphasized the importance of planning in such a scenario. Stickle and her family had to evacuate from their home for six days, living with no power.
“The minute that these came up, the next morning, I was evacuated at five o’clock in the morning and [on] Day One our entire team all jumped in immediately,” Stickle said. “We were all on the phone. They were checking in on me. We were devising a risk management program for the students. We were determining whether or not we were going to push the program out by a week.”
Stickle worked with Montclair State, Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Emerson College and Temple University’s Semester in LA programs to make a plan to send to students and their families. This included the option to travel to Los Angeles later without penalty, as well as downloads for evacuation and directions to Stickle’s cabin in case of an emergency.
“We have a really great team at Montclair [State],” Stickle said. “Our line of communication is so spot-on, and we are always in contact. It’s just such a supportive and wonderful team that cares about the students a lot.”
Dr. Keith Strudler, the dean of the School of Communication and Media, emphasized the importance of preparing students for any situation.
“Our students were still very excited to go out there, and I think it’s always a good reminder that you need to consider anytime you have a program like this, what are the risks?” Strudler said. “What kind of disaster planning do you need to do? I think, though fortunately there hasn’t been any real impact on us, it’s always a good drill to go through.”
While the wildfires did not impact Montclair State directly, Stickle was elated with the amount of support of her former students during the crisis.
“I’ve always been in Los Angeles, but 90% of my former students who have either recently graduated from Montclair [State] or are still on campus as seniors this year, all reached out to me immediately within the first four days to check on my well-being, which tells me that Montclair [State] did a really great job of informing students of what was going on and talking about it,” Stickle said. “And I’m so proud of my former students for having so much compassion.”
Junior public relations and social media major and Semester in LA student leader Megan Hertlein shared her personal experiences with the wildfires.
“I can fortunately say that the area that we are in has not really been directly affected at all by the wildfires,” Hertlein said. “My heart does go out to everybody who has been affected out here. For me personally, with getting out here, my flight did get delayed a couple days because I was gonna come out early and explore the city. But when I heard everything that was going on, I decided to change my flight and move it to closer to when I had to move in, just to not take resources from other people.”
While Montclair State students were adequately prepared and unaffected by the wildfires, they have proved a valuable lesson in disaster planning, risk management and community.
Left to Right: Olivia Laurens, Samantha Bussinger, Allison Vlkovic, Megan Hertlein at The Grove. Photo courtesy of Megan Hertlein Photo credit: Megan Hertlein
“While the fires impacted many of the lives here, a lot of people who are in the industry, it impacted all the community at large and a lot of LA is not [part of the] Hollywood industry,” Stickle said. “A lot of LA is just middle class, like the rest of the country, like New Jersey, even New York and so it impacted more than just the industry and impacted everyday families, our schools and the community has really come together.
Stickle reflected on the program’s students, highlighting their experience as a community during a time of hardship.
“You see these kids out here studying from Montclair [State] who are witnessing how a city comes together in a traumatic event like this,” Stickle said. “And I think that that’s really a good thing. I think that’s a great education.”
